The Great Pegasus and Beautiful Geraldine...

The drive from Picton, the drop off point on the south island, to Dunedin, which is much of the way down the east coast of the south island, is about 10 hours.  We planned it so that we could eat a late lunch at one of our favorite restaurants (in the whole world).  We realize that is a large statement to make, however the experience at Pegasus Bay Winery delivers- every time.  Granted, we have only been there twice now, yet both times the meals were probably among the best meals we've ever had.  The drive to Pegasus took a little longer than we expected and being they close at 4p, we scooted in the door about quarter till 4p and were hesitant to see their expressions as we were 45 minutes late for our reservation.  Fortunately (this would have rarely happened in the states) they welcomed us as though it was their first hour of business (for the day) rather than the last, which made us feel much better!  Pegusus is a sustainable business model all the way around, from their Biodynamic vineyard to their seasonal menu.  All we can say is they know what they are doing in the most unpretentious, enjoyable way.  

A bit on the dark side, the table at Pegasus consists of a wine barrel top, which is understated, practical, and resourceful!

 Oh, two very happy people!

The grilled calamari salad was at its freshest and fantastic...

Zeph's salmon was perfectly seared with fresh green olives on top and some equally fresh olive oil...

A light "salad" consisting fresh figs (picked from their grounds), on top authentic water buffalo yogurt, with honey, and gorgonzola...good enough to be dessert!

Dessert consisted of an extremely dark molten chocolate cake of sorts, rhubarb, and fresh vanilla bean ice cream...

Now you will understand why this truly is one of our favorite (special treat) spots!  Needless to say we did a better job at not eating too much as this can ruin the entire experience.  And, we continue to be inspired by passionate people like those who run Pegasus.

 They had to let us out of Pegasus...

After our late lunch, or early dinner, we drove a couple more hours closer to Dunedin and stopped at another great spot we had visited once before, Geraldine.  Geraldine is a sweet spot, and in our eyes fully self-sufficient being that she has her own organic yogurt company, cheese factory, chocolate factory, jam factories, organic produce stands and then some!  Geraldine is a combination of brilliantly green rolling farmland, scattered with orchards, and large foothills leading into the Southern Alps.  It is very beautiful scenery!  We were fortunate to visit their farmer's market in the morning before finishing our drive and it was a special treat in itself.  There were about 15-20 vendors, all local and mostly organic, with brilliant creations such as a hazelnut and honey spread (the Kiwi version of Nutella, yet even better).  Pretty neat as well because both hazelnuts and honey are "grown" in New Zealand and with local ingredients like that it is easy to understand the inspiration locals have to create their own amazing creations!  We felt honored to experience this perfect little market and it was a perfect send off to continue our drive south to Dunedin.   

 A great image or shadow of us in our lovely Isuzu Bighorn, named Queen Sally (it was Sally then we adjusted it to Queen Sally after the infamous Queen Sally Diamond Deli in lovely Wellington)...